


After Angels Fall

by elektrolizardprince



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Achromatopsia, Alcohol, Basically you decide which vault hunter they talk about, Borderlands: Borderlands 2, Brick needs a hug, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentioned Axton (Borderlands), Mentioned Bloodwing (Borderlands), Mentioned Gaige (Borderlands), Mentioned Handsome Jack (Borderlands), Mentioned Kreig (Borderlands), Mentioned Maya (Borderlands), Mentioned Moxxi (Borderlands), Mentioned Salvador (Borderlands), Mentioned Zer0 (Borderlands), Mordecai needs a hug, if they don't take turns comforting each other who will?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-29 20:20:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21416095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elektrolizardprince/pseuds/elektrolizardprince
Summary: Brick returns from control core angel alone, Roland dead, Lilith taken, it's honestly getting hard not to lose steam. The vault hunter's still going strong, running off to the Arid Nexus, and Sanctuary.... feels empty. It used to be the four of them, like old times, working together after so long and now... well, at least Brick can still come home to Mordecai.Or in which Brick and Mordecai try to cope after Where Angels Fear To Tread.I know I only mentioned it but Mordecai's achromatopsia (complete colorblindness) headcanon is from chris (@transbrick): https://twitter.com/transbrick/status/1182491618265522177
Relationships: Brick/Mordecai (Borderlands), Lilith/Roland (Borderlands)
Kudos: 20





	After Angels Fall

"Mordy." Brick wasn't sure if his voice was shaking or not, and if it was, he hoped he could blame it on the echo. "I'm comin' back to Sanctuary. Alone."

He wasn't even there to stop Jack, to protect his friends. Yes, he's strong, he's the berserker, he's the king of the slabs, but… two of his oldest friends just went into that building and neither came out. Not freely, anyway. This hurt just as bad as the fall of new haven, just as bad as losing Priscilla, and with the fate of the planet hanging in the balance, Brick found it hard to stay composed.

"Brick? How's everything going? Lilith left an hour ago and I haven't heard from her, Roland, or the vault hunter. Talk to me, amigo."

"I… naw, I gotta tell ya when I get there. 'M sorry. 'M on my way." 

That worried Mordecai. Brick wasn't the kind of guy to keep things to himself, and Roland was going to echo in when this was all over… fuck, why was he the only one stuck in Sanctuary? He could've helped, damnit! Brick must've turned off his echo, his line went dead and Mordecai really hoped the whole plan didn't turn to shit. It couldn't have, right? Lilith and Roland and Brick, everything was okay, right?

Left in the dark, all he could do was wait. He studied the holographic plans on the table, all four- all five of them had just gone over these earlier that day. They'd covered support, backups, they had everything figured out and sure, it all started out depending on claptrap of all things, but the vault hunters had this, they had each other's backs. 

\--

"This isn't a discussion. You're not going without me. Period." Lilith's voice was stern. She was the strongest siren on Pandora, there's no way she'd stand by while they took down Angel. She and Roland stared each other down, two unmoving forces, until Roland balked, that is. 

"Look. I need you here protecting sanctuary. If this turns out to be a trap, I need you to keep these people safe." He wasn't lying, but he was trying to pull at her heartstrings, give her a reason she couldn't refuse. They'd all worked hard to get Sanctuary to what it was, to where they were, Roland couldn't deny everyone's part in this, especially not Lilith's.

She saw right through his excuse, recalling Angel's warning. "Is this because Angel told me not to come?! It is, isn't it?" Incensed, her voice rose just so in volume.

"Lilith-- damnit, would you just trust me? Okay?" Roland snapped right back at her. They couldn't trust Angel, not after how she betrayed them… but this was the only shot they had. He needed everything to work out according to plan, no Lilith in the control core, Sanctuary guarded by the best hunter and siren the planet has ever seen, and Roland and the Vault hunter taking down Angel and the vault key while Brick defended them. 

A moment passed, hard eyes both burning with the fire of a thousand suns. Finally, she relented. Roland was stubborn, and they didn't have time to waste over a pissing match over who would do what. This wasn't some special field trip, people's lives were at stake. Their lives were at stake. "If you get killed, I'm going to be really pissed."

"Noted."

That's the last time they would all be together again. 

\--

He tossed back a mouthful of rakk ale, the waiting was grating his nerves. Damn, he knew Brick was just flying from outside thousand cuts and he would only take an hour tops, but the suspense, the way Brick wouldn't tell him anything, it all got to him. He had no idea what Brick had to say. If they'd won, he'd know. Lilith and Roland would've checked in by now, but they haven't, and Brick stayed off the grid. Something had to have gone wrong… was it all over? No. No, it couldn't be all over. He wouldn't let it end this way. 

Mordecai was still poring over back-up-back-up plans when Brick arrived. The slab king made his homecoming discreet, leaving his buzzard behind the headquarters and taking the back way in. He knew he had to tell Mordecai everything, and he didn't know if he could stay positive. No lilith, Roland dead, Jack had the vault key, and the slabs were down in numbers after that failed escapade. 

"'Ey, Mordy, I-"

Brick was swamped in moments after Mordecai noticed him, the latter checking the former over meticulously. After deciding that his partner had survived, Mordecai pulled him in close, hugging tightly with a sigh of relief. 

"Qué alivio. We lost too damn much, I'm not losing you, too." 

That pushed at Brick's limits. Mordecai had no idea… and Brick had to tell him everything, and he was only happy that Brick himself had survived. But why had he survived? He didn't do anything to deserve survival, not when Roland or Lilith could've gotten out of this Scott free. Murderous psycho. Roland's words, years old the memory may be, toyed at the edges of his mind. It never bothered him before, he was efficient, he got things done, and he'd done a lot for the rebellion, but Roland had the plans, and Lilith was a freakin' siren! Why should he be the one coming back?

Silently, Brick wrapped his arms tightly around the other. He tried really hard not to think about that, instead focusing on the feeling of Mordecai held safe in his arms. This was something that would never change, Brick holding his boyfriend and being held in return.

Brick didn't have to say anything for Mordecai to know something was wrong, really wrong, and he knew better than to push him. He'd hoped that things had gone smoothly, of course, but shit happens. He trusted them to be able to handle what comes next, and for now, he just wanted to comfort his love.

"Cariño." Mordecai pulled back slightly, enough that he could see Brick's face and take him in his hands. "We'll be okay, we got this. Let's take tonight for ourselves, yeah? We'll finish this, all of this, tomorrow."

The taller man looked tired. He offered a small smile and nodded. "Yeah. Hell yeah. Jack'll get what's coming to him."

"And I'll be damned if we don't give it to him."

That made him smile, an actual smile. He knew damn well that there was nothing they couldn't accomplish together. 

"There we go," Mordecai smiled back. "That's my guy. C'mon, we have the rest of the night."

It hurt a little too much to stay in the headquarters, so they made their way to moxxxi's. They'd go home later, but maybe being around people would help the mood some. They bought a bottle of whiskey to share from the bar and retreated to a booth by the door. 

"Mordy…" Brick started, hands tight around his glass. "I don't know how t'say this. It ain't right."

Mordecai looked up at him with a worried expression. The bar was dark enough inside that he'd pulled his goggles to the top of his head. "Is it about today?" He spoke softly, reaching across the table to set his hand over Brick's.

He nodded solemnly. "I… the slab told me. They killed Angel; Lil', Roland, and them, and she was Jack's kid. He was pumpin' her full of eridium, and when they stopped it, it killed her."

"What? She's… what?"

"She asked 'em to. They didn't just murder her or nothin'. But Jack… he fast traveled in right as Roland was talking to Lil' and the Slab, and he shot him through the chest. It killed him instantly."

"Where's Lil', though?"

"Jack nabbed her. Angel was right about not letting her come. He slapped some kind of brace 'round her neck and whatever it was, Lilith couldn't help but listen t' him. I mean, 'course she could, she got the slab out, but he was controlling her, Mordy."

Mordecai set his jaw, steel grey eyes dropping down to his drink. "We'll get her back. We ain't leaving her there."

"I know."

He shot back the whiskey in his glass and set it down with a clack. "Let's get out of here, huh? I've had enough." He pulled his goggles back over his eyes and trooped out. 

\--

Brick opened the door to their place, a small two story not far from the headquarters. They'd opted to live together once they'd both settled in Sanctuary. It was refreshing, they hadn't had this chance since New Haven, and they'd been more or less together since then, too.

The years between New Haven and Sanctuary were filled with short, frequent visits. It's not like they had tons of free time between the Slabs and taking jobs, but they spent as much as they could together. 

Mordecai muttered something about needing some air and beelined upstairs. There was a ladder and a hatch that opened to the roof from their bedroom, and even though Mordecai couldn't see color, he sometimes liked to watch the sunset anyway. It gave him time to think, and he used to sit on high buildings with blood… nope, he wasn't going to focus on that. 

He sighed, still holding onto the bottle they'd bought at Moxxi's. Pandora had really been hell and a half since he landed here looking for that damned vault. He almost wished he'd stayed on Artemis. Almost. Brick climbed through the hatch not long after him.

Mordecai raised the bottle in a silent greeting, glancing over his shoulder. 

"How ya handling?" Brick asked, taking a seat beside his boyfriend. He wasn't over it himself, but he'd had a little longer to process. 

"I'm gonna kill that asshole." Mordecai grunted, tipping back the bottle.

"He deserves it."

"No one shoulda died over this, 'cept Jack for starting all of this shit. I… he took my best friend. Bloodwing, Roland, Lilith, this has to stop." Mordecai's knuckles turned white around the neck of the bottle. 

Brick reached over, pulling mordecai's hand over and working his fingers from the bottle. "I promise ya, we'll get him back. You, me, Lilith, the vault hunter, we'll make him pay for everything he's done."

He set the bottle aside and the hunter linked their fingers together, anger slowly subsiding. "At least he didn't take you." 

"He isn't gonna take me." Brick promised, bringing their interlocked hands up and kissing the other's knuckles. "Nothing will."

Mordecai gave him a soft smile, leaning over for a kiss that Brick happily gave. 

"Te amo."

"I love you too."


End file.
